ACTS 17:10

The Bible says in Acts 17:10-14, And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by
night unto Berea: who coming thither, went into the synagogue of the
Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether
those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honorable women
which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had
knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up
the people. And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were
to the sea: but Silas and Timothy abode there still.

Of course, the thing that stands out in this passage is the
example of the people who live in the city of Berea. When Paul came to them to teach them,
they responded in the way that everyone should respond when the Word of God is
preached unto them. It says, These
were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with
all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things
were so. They were more
noble first of all because of their attitude towards the Word of God. Attitude
is everything. If someone has the wrong attitude, they are unteachable. In
order to teach, you must have a good teacher, but you also must have a good
student.

You can give out the Word of God all that you want, but unless it
falls on good ground, it will not bear fruit. Jesus said, He that ears to hear, let him hear. It is not the sower of seed who
determines if fruit will be born or not: its the type of ground upon which the
seed falls. If someone does not have ears to hear, they will not hear. Those in
Berea were so noticeable because they had ears
to hear: they had a ready mind. They did not think that they had all the
answers. They realized that they had more to learn, and they wanted to learn
it. Everyone is in that condition. No one knows everything they need to know
about the infinite God. We will spend an eternity learning about Him. Jesus
said, Blessed are they
that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Even though the Bereans had a ready mind and an obvious hunger for
truth and a willingness to be taught, they also realized where the final
authority was to be found: in the scriptures. They searched the scriptures daily to see if those things
were so. The reason that
people get involved in a cult or other false teaching is because they are
receptive to listening to teachings all right, but they are too receptive and
they do not have the second quality exhibited by the Bereans. They do not
search the scriptures daily to see if those things are true. Some people become
too attached to a man or to a personality, and not attached nearly enough to
the scriptures as the final authority. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. It is good to have a good teacher, but
there are not many good teachers out there. Man might lead you astray, but the
Word of God never will, if you understand it rightly. Too many people have
become followers of man, instead of followers of the Word. The things that you
claim to believe, did you learn them from man or did you learn them from your
own study of the Word?

Not only did the believers in Berea search the scriptures, but they searched
the scriptures daily. Dont ever forget that you need to feed upon
Gods Word daily. The Bible is our spiritual food. We cannot be strong
spiritually speaking without spiritual nourishment. That is what Jesus was
talking about when He said, Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God. You eat food every day because that is
a physical requirement for your body to stay strong and healthy. In the same
way if you do not have a regular daily intake of the Word of God, you will not
have the spiritual strength that you need to take on the challenges of the day.

After Paul left the city of Berea, he went to Athens, and the Bible says in Acts 17:15-17, And they that conducted Paul brought him
unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas
and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed. Now while Paul
waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city
wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews,
and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with
him. The thing to notice
about Paul when he was first in Athens is that he immediately saw the spiritual
needs of the people of Athens. He did not condemn them: he had compassion on them. That should
always be the attitude of believers to the unsaved. We should care about the
condition of their souls. It says here concerning Paul, his spirit was stirred in him, when he
saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

It would be a sad thing should there be one lost soul in this
world for whom no ones heart is ever stirred. If Christians loved souls the
way that they ought to, no one could ever say, No man careth for my soul.
Have you seen the multitudes in the community in which you live, and has your
heart been stirred for them? The day of judgment is coming and they must be
saved or all is lost. It says in Joel 3:14, Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of
the Lord is near in the valley of decision. If Christians walk close to the Lord, and have a little bit of
the love of Christ for souls, then that will never happen. Paul wrote in Second
Corinthians 5:14, For the
love of Christ constraineth us.
If we had more love and compassion for lost souls, maybe we would see more
souls saved. Psalm 126:6 says, He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall
doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

The Bible says in Acts 17:18-21, Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the
Stoics encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? Others said,
He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them
Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him unto Areopagus,
saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speaketh, is? For thou
bringeth certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these
things mean. For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their
time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing. As Paul was questioned by followers of
the great philosophies of the world, once again we see that Pauls central
theme was Jesus. It says here that he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection.

How much different was the preaching of Jesus than the
philosophies of the Epicureans and the Stoics! We can see in the teachings of the
Epicureans and the Stoics the full range of humanistic philosophies. On one end
of the spectrum you have the Epicureans. They advocated the pursuit of all
sensual gratification and materialism. The general phrase that describes this
philosophy is as follows: eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. This
philosophy is very widespread in the world today. It is pursued and taught very
aggressively by Hollywood and the entertainment industry. The Stoics were just the
opposite. They emphasized much more a human discipline and a neglecting of the
pursuit of pleasure, but they did it in a way that was very negative and
fatalistic.

True Christianity which centers around Jesus and His resurrection
is so much different than anything that humanistic philosophies can ever
conceive of. That is because the truth comes by revelation from God. It does
not come from the imagination of man. If you want to be reminded of what comes
from the imagination of man, look at Genesis 6:5. It says, And God saw that the wickedness of man
was great inthe earth, and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Isaiah 55:7-8 says, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. The whole problem with the human race
is not the philosophy that someone holds to: the problem is the sinfulness of
the human race. That is where Jesus comes in. Jesus came and died for the sins
of the world, and then He rose from the dead. By believing in Jesus, we can
escape the terrible consequences of the foolish thoughts of man and we can
enter into the benefits of His death and resurrection. And then we can have a
destiny in heaven, and we can have the very things that both the Epicureans and
the Stoics were striving for. We can enjoy life to its fullest the way that it
was meant to be enjoyed, and we can have a reasonable discipline. We can enjoy
life, but enjoy it within the boundaries that God set for all things. This is
what leads to the greatest possible fulfillment of human life. Christianity is
not the unbridled license of the Epicureans, and its not the negative
restrictions of the Stoics either. Jesus said to His disciples, I am come that you might have life, and
that you might have it more abundantly.

Concerning the sermon that Paul preached in Athens, the Bible says in Acts 17:22-23, Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars
hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are
too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an
altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, Whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship, him declare I unto you.
We do not know who made this altar to the unknown God, but it was evidently
someone with a great deal of perception. Of course, the Greeks had many gods.
But someone must have considered all of the Greek gods that had been invented
by the mind of man, and then realized that still there were things that
happened that just could not be accounted for even by all of their gods. They
knew that there must be another God that they did not known personally. Paul,
in seeing this altar, used it as a means to start his sermon and his
conversation with the people of Athens in order to preach unto them Jesus. By
the way, that is one of the best ways to be a witness in this world: see what
is going on around you, and then in your conversation with the people of the
world interpret what you have seen according to the principles of the Bible.
Being a witness can and should be a very normal and natural outgrowth from your
daily experience. If you understand your surroundings, you will understand the
spiritual significance of what you are seeing, and you will speak forth your
understanding.

As Paul spoke forth his message to the people of Athens about the unknown God, we will see
several things emphasized by Paul. The first thing is the fact that even though
Paul is speaking about the unknown God, God does not have to remain unknown to
them. That is what Christianity is all about: people coming into a personal
relationship with the great eternal God. Once they were estranged from Him.
Once they did not know Him, but now through Jesus, they can know Him the way
that He was meant to be known. That is why Paul said, Whom therefore, you ignorantly worship
him declare I unto you.

In Pauls sermon he will emphasize several things about God. He
will emphasize the fact that God is the all-powerful creator of all things and
of man in particular. Paul will also tell the Athenians that God is
omnipresent; that is, God is everywhere. Paul will tell the Athenians as we
shall see over the next few verses that God is the Judge before whom we will
all be judged; but that Jesus is the Savior who will save us from that judgment
and deliver us to share in the glories of the resurrection. Concerning the
creation, Paul said in Acts 17:24-26, God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he
is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands, as though
he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
And has made of one blood all nations of men for todwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the
times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.

God is the creator of the world and of all things. There are
several important points that Paul makes from this fact. The first is implied
from the very theme that he is on here. Remember that Paul is speaking to the
Athenians about the unknown God. This is the God that created all things
including ourselves. We need to know Him in order to know the meaning of life
and the reason for our own existence. Since God created all things, God cannot
possible dwell within a temple made by human hands. Idolatry as it is found in
the false religions of the world consistently has portrayed God as dwelling
within the great temples and other religious structures built by the hand of
man. This whole idea of God being within a building and man going into that
building to know God better is a false idea. Even in Christianity the church is
not the building. The church is made up of people, and the church will still be
the church even if they gather together without a building. God is known
personally within the heart, and mind, and soul of a man or woman. The question
is: do you know God in a personal way through faith in Christ?